Of Red and Yellow
by Burning-candlelight
Summary: 100 stories challenge by HermioneWeasleyFan...100 stories about Hermione and Cedric YAY :D...rated T for later stories just in case xxx Title change!
1. Introduction

**Hello all :D. I am taking part in the 100 stories challenge which was set by HermioneWeasleyFan. She has given us 100 titles and we have to write stories about it. My chosen pairing is, as you can clearly tell, Hermione/Cedric :D. I have chosen to write entirely oneshots...sorry if anyone wanted a complete story, but I am incapable of writing 100 chapters for just one story! lol...anyway the stories might be long and they might be short, but all I can tell you is there will be lots and lots and lots of Cedmione goodness!!!! Enjoy xxx**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own a single thing to do with Harry Potter!_**

**Introduction**

Hermione Granger smiled broadly as she walked up the centre of the crowd on the arm of Viktor Krum. Never in a million years had she ever imagined going to a ball as extravagant as this one.  
"You look beautiful Herm-own-ninny," Viktor whispered into her ear in his rich, Bulgarian accent. Her blush was evident. She'd never been called beautiful before. Tonight was surely going to be one to remember.

Hermione and Viktor were seated at a table with the other Triwizard Champions. Harry Potter, her best friend and the youngest of the champions, was looking more confident than he probably felt. She smiled at him warmly and he returned her comforting gesture with a very strained grin. His partner for the night, Parvati Patil, was gaping around her. The splendour of the room had obviously captivated her and Hermione couldn't help but feel that she actually might have a common ground with this girl tonight. Fleur Delacour, the champion from Beauxbatons, sat beside Parvati and was looking even more radiant than usual. A single bat of her eyelashes turned her partner, Roger Davis, into a large lump of peach goo. The final champion, who was also from Hogwarts, was Cedric Diggory. He was as handsome as he was pleasant and up to this point Hermione has never spoken a proper word edgewise to him. His partner was the girl whom Harry had wanted to take to the Ball. Cho Chang was looking stunning and Hermione just knew that Harry was dwelling on the fact that she wasn't his date.  
"Good evening Champions," said a calm voice from behind Hermione's chair. She recognised the voice in a heartbeat and smiled as Professor Dumbledore moved around the table to make himself seen by everyone.  
"I would like to take this time to introduce you all to each other. I only think it fair as you will all be dining together tonight." The twinkle in his eye was brighter than ever and Hermione knew that he was already thoroughly enjoying himself. Promptly everyone at the table stood up and moved out into a straight line at the edge of the dance floor. Dumbledore sighed happily and informed the Champions and their partners to form a circle as it would be easier to greet each other.  
"Greet the couple to your left," the headmaster instructed lightly with a smile and a twinkle. Hermione and Viktor were standing next to Harry and Parvati. This wasn't going to be that big of a challenge, however Hermione had her doubts as to whether Parvati could hold down a blush when greeting Viktor.  
"Hello. My name eez Viktor Krum and I vould like you to meet my partner for ze night, Herm-own-ninny Granger." Hermione clenched her teeth and she realised that she would be introduced all night as Herm-own-ninny. She shook Parvati's hand gently and then practically grabbed Harry's.  
"This is going to be fun isn't it," she muttered as both she and Harry glanced at a gushing Parvati. Viktor looked somewhat taken back by the girl's enthusiasm.  
"Meeting the other Champions will be more awkward than this," Harry mumbled as he let go of his best friend's hand. Hermione nodded. She felt sympathetic for Harry. He had to do the introducing and she could literally feel the discontent emanating from him due to this.  
"Now greet the couple to your right," Dumbledore told them smoothly. Viktor and Hermione now turned to face Fleur and Roger. Viktor introduced them again and as they were shaking hands with each other Fleur spoke to Hermione. "Your dress eez very pretty," she said in a voice which sounded like chorus. Hermione couldn't help but feel embarrassed and shocked by this compliment and so she muttered back a hurried "Thank you very much, your dress is beautiful too," and relaxed as Dumbledore instructed them to now greet the couple that they had not greeted yet.  
"Good evening. My name is Cedric Diggory and I would like to introduce you to my partner this evening, Miss Cho Chang." Hermione had yet to look at Cedric as she was simply in awe of Cho who was in turn gazing raptly at Viktor. Her radiance was so natural that Hermione almost envied her. She made it a point in her life to never envy anybody just because of their looks or their personality. Once again she clenched her teeth as she was introduced as Herm-own-ninny but as soon as she took her eyes off Cho they were captured by ones of pure, molten steel. Her breath caught in her throat as Cedric's warm, smouldering eyes held hers in place as they shook hands. His hand was so warm and soft that for a moment Hermione was completely and utterly dazed. His full lips were forming words as he shook her hand and held her gaze that she had to snap herself out of her stupor just so that she could hear what he was saying.  
"...and you look positively glowing tonight." His silky tenor voice was enough to make her turn into the same type of goo that Roger turned into when he was around Fleur, but she restrained herself and smiled sweetly. "Thank-you Cedric. You are quite the gentleman." Straight, white teeth nearly destroyed her vision as Cedric let go of her hand and took Cho's arm to lead her back to the table. Viktor did the same for Hermione and as soon as they sat down the evening began.

Why had she never noticed his sheer handsomeness before? The deserts disappeared from their table and as the Champions sat with their dates and chatted merrily Hermione was left with a troubled mind. As she tried to help Viktor pronounce her name accurately her thoughts dwelled on her greeting with Cedric. His straight white teeth had tantalised her and his eyes had held hers so fiercely. A feeling of giddiness had formed in her stomach and all too soon she was sneaking glances at him just too see if he was looking at her.  
'This is stupid. He was just being charming,' Hermione thought to herself as she noticed Viktor offering her his hand. It must be time for the first dance. She was lead to the dance floor and when Viktor placed his hand on her waist a little butterfly sprung up into her stomach. Her smile went unnoticed as she revelled in the fact that she had gotten excited that Viktor was dancing with her. Without any hitches or flaws the first dance was soon over and done with and it was now time for dancing in general. The music was being kept rather conservative for the first part of the evening so as the teachers and other older members of the ball could have a nice dance and in the second half of the evening the music was going to be more youth orientated. Hermione danced with Viktor for two more songs before he went off to get them both a drink. Just as she was about to leave the dance floor she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Hermione turned and to her astonishment Cedric Diggory stood before her with a charming grin on his angelic face.  
"Leaving so soon?" he asked her politely. Hermione gave him a confused look and he chuckled merrily. "I was wondering if I could have this dance with you, but if you would rather leave then that's fine." Hermione's brain finally put two and two together and heat started to rise up her neck.  
"Oh! I wasn't leaving," she said stupidly as the blush started to tinge her cheeks. Cedric flashed his perfect teeth at her and then held out his hand for her. "So could I have this dance Miss. Granger?"

Hermione took his hand gladly and as their skin made contact a swarm of butterflies erupted in her abdomen. 'Oh this is new,' Hermione thought as Cedric placed a hand on her waist. Hermione's free hand went up and rested on Cedric's bicep. It was so firm to the touch that Hermione had to remind herself that she was dancing with a man and not a tank. The music was quite slow but had a good rhythm to it so Cedric took Hermione on a waltz around the dance floor. He made the dance his own by twirling her lightly and dipping her slightly. Her dress fluttered behind her gently and soon most of the dancing couples had their eyes on them. They were both smiling and staring deep into each other's eyes, an invisible connection evident. As the song came to its conclusion Cedric twirled Hermione one final time and pulled her close to him in an elegant finish. Applause and cheers echoed around the hall, but Hermione didn't hear any of it. He was looking at her in that way again. His eyes smouldering, like molten metal, his lips forming unheard words.  
"...you are a wonderful dancer Hermione thank-you," and with that he bowed, took her hand and lightly kissed it. Her hand burned in response to his lips and as he walked away from her she found herself yearning after him in a very uncharacteristic fashion.

"So how was your night then with the infamous Viktor Krum?" asked Ginny Weasley as she and Hermione walked up to their dormitories. Hermione remained silent as she pondered over the question asked. As she reached her dormitory she turned to Ginny and answered "It was alright." Ginny looked at her disbelievingly. "Just alright? What could have been better than that?" Hermione's grin caused Ginny's face to contort in confusion.  
"I danced with Cedric Diggory," she answered and before Ginny could question her further she disappeared into her dormitory and never spoke of that event again.

* * *

**A/N: So what did you think od my first story then? Review and tell me everything lol xxxx**


	2. Love

**A quick note to say that in most of these one shots Cedric will have survived the 4th book, but in some he won't have :(. A big shout out for my first 4 reviewer: _Kag20, Sindoll, Silverbirch (who is also taking part in the 100 stories challenge WOOT!) and fire dragonheart_ thank you guys so much for your great reviews .... Enjoy!!**

_Disclaimer: Again I own nothing_

**Love**

Does love really exist? Hermione Granger didn't believe so. In fact she'd given up on love. When the man she adored failed to realise that she had obvious feelings for him she decided that enough was enough.

"Hermione?" Her blood bubbled in irritation, why couldn't he just keep quiet?  
"Hermione?!" A nerve twitched in her eye as she dipped her quill into the ink pot next to her. Silence, she wondered how long it would last? "Hermione?" Not long enough it would seem.

"Shut up Ronald!" Hermione snapped rather loudly. Madam Pince shot Hermione and Ron Weasley a deathly glare and Ron quickly buried his head in a book. After a couple of seconds he peeped over the book to see if the librarian was still watching.

"Why won't you help me out with my Potions essay?" Hermione inwardly sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Because Ronald you won't learn anything if I do it for you!" she hissed as Ron doodled on a piece of parchment. There had been a time when she had absolutely adored the boy sitting next to her. She used to get butterflies each time he said her name and her stomach used to do back-flips whenever they touched even slightly, but as the years had passed she realised that they were not a match for each other. He was an ignorant fool and she was too much into her studies for him to care.

"I'm not asking you to do it for me I'm only asking if you'll _help_ me," Ron whispered in a whinny tone. It hurt when she gritted her teeth but she couldn't help it, he was so foolish. "Any time I try to _just_ help you I end up doing _half_ of your essay for you!" Ron gave her a cheeky grin and she huffed loudly. "You can forget it. How about you do something for yourself for a change. Now keep quiet and let me do my work."

* * *

Time was passing unusually quickly. Hermione glanced at her watch, it was 8 o'clock already and she'd barely even touched her Charms essay which was due in 4 weeks time, let alone her transfiguration and potions essays. Ron had gotten fed up about 45 minutes ago and had left to go and play exploding snap with Fred and George. She sighed lightly and heaved herself up from her chair to go and find some books for her more urgent essays. Her feet took her automatically to the back of the Library where the transfiguration books were kept. Inhaling deeply she smiled and started to trace her fingers down the spines of the books, reading each one very carefully. She became so engrossed in trying to find good books that she didn't realise that she was not alone. As Hermione's finger started to trace one book another finger started to do the same. Hermione, who jumped slightly, turned to her left to find Cedric Diggory standing mere inches away from her. How could she not have noticed his presence?

"Oh! Hello Hermione, I didn't see you there," Cedric said brightly, his voice smooth and charismatic. "I was just so immersed in trying to find books that I didn't realise that I wasn't the only one in the isle." Hermione's cheeks started to turn a light pink. "Hey Cedric. I didn't see you here either," she said quietly, highly embarrassed of her ignorance. Cedric however simply smiled and picked out the book they were both looking at.

"_McArthur's guide to Transfiguring Inanimate objects_. Now this is a book that has gotten me out of many tight spots." His tone was cheerful and his eyes hinted that he was reminiscing about the past. As he looked, rather adoringly, at the book Hermione found herself smiling. He looked so angelic and innocent, it was refreshing.

"Yes it's a wonderful book. Are you going to be using it again?" she enquired. Hermione was very interested in this book and if he told her that he was she didn't know what she was going to do.

"I am yes, but if you want to use it too, please feel free to join me. I would only be too happy to share the book with you." His charm and kindness knew no bounds and Hermione felt her spirits lift a little. "That would be great thank you so much."

* * *

Hermione settled herself in a chair opposite Cedric, who had a greatly superior selection of books than she did sitting on the table beside him. Her books which were levitating behind her moved and landed on the table with a soft _thud_. Cedric beamed at her and moved the book that they were going to share into the middle of their workspace.

"Take it whenever you like and don't worry about losing places or anything. If you need some help don't hesitate to ask either." It was the first time someone, other than a teacher, had ever offered Hermione help. It was odd but she felt a sort of pressure being lifted from her chest.

"Thank you. You can ask me for help too," she said to him as she flattened out her transfiguration essay. Immediately she blushed, realising how stupid she must have sounded to the 7th year Hufflepuff, Quidditch Captain, Prefect who scored the highest in his year in every class.

"I might just take the smartest witch of our age up on that offer," Cedric told her giving her a small wink which caused her pink face to turn a brilliant shade of beetroot. Her head snapped down to her essay and she grabbed her quill a bit too aggressively but within seconds both she and Cedric were scribbling energetically on long pieces of parchment. All too soon Hermione found herself reaching for the book in the middle of the table and as her hand rested on top of it another rested upon hers. Their eyes met and both students stared at the other with embarrassed and shocked expressions. Hermione could literally hear her heart pounding against her chest as a response to the warmth of Cedric's hand.

"I'm sorry Hermione," Cedric said softly, pulling his hand away in an almost reluctant manner. The Gryffindor's skin burned as the Hufflepuff lifted his hand. What had just happened? Hermione had never experienced anything like that before. Her palms were sweating, her heart was racing, her vision was ever so slightly blurred and her skin was practically on fire. Cedric nudged the book towards her and she lifted it gingerly and started to flip through the pages. Finding what she was looking for she scrawled the information down on a separate piece of parchment and gave the book to the boy in front of her. For another 30 minutes the pair worked in complete silence.

"Hmm?" Cedric muttered to himself as he set down another book. Hermione peeked up from under her eyelashes to find the 7th year boy sitting deep in thought while staring at his essay. He was biting his lip every so delicately and his brow was furrowed. A supple tuft of his shiny, chocolate brown hair was resting neatly against his forehead and Hermione felt a sudden urge to touch it and to move it back into place. After another moment of her curious peeking Cedric finally looked up from his page and coughed subtly.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked him, holding back a grin. Cedric ran a hand through his hair, fixing the tuft that had escaped from its place and causing him to look dishevelled and faintly flushed.

"How much do you know about the '_Mantium Spell'?"_ The flustered Hufflepuff asked her softly. Hermione set her quill down and thought for a moment.

"I know the theory behind it but I don't know how to cast it. I assume that is what your essay is on?" she asked him politely. He gave her a small wink again and this time Hermione could feel her flush creeping up her neck and tinting her cheeks.

"Yes it is. You see I've gotten most of the way through it but I'm stuck at this part here," Cedric informed her and at that he leaned over the desk and pushed his essay towards her indicating what his problem was. Hermione leaned forward to get a better look. His hand writing was immaculate; in fact it was the most elegant handwriting she had ever seen any boy produce before. She scanned his work, it was already 'O' standard but she soon picked up where he'd gone wrong.

"You've mixed up the '_Mantium Spell_' here with the '_Montio Spell_'. All you have to do is rewrite that and you're done," Hermione stated matter-of-factly. She and Cedric both looked up at the same time and were practically nose to nose with each other. Her eyes shot open and he smiled and whispered graciously, "Thanks Hermione. You really are intelligent." His breath smelled like a mint forest. It was hot against her skin and as she inhaled she became intoxicated. His lips were so voluptuous and inviting that her intoxicated brain was urging her to move closer. He, however, slowly moved away from her and sat back down on his chair, frantically fixing his essay.

* * *

It was 10 minutes to 9 and Hermione could feel Madam Pince glaring at the back of her head. "10 minutes until the library closes!" the woman squawked in their direction. Hermione gritted her teeth. Cedric, who was now engrossed in a Charms book, shifted in his seat and as Hermione began the fourth paragraph of her Potions essay she felt his feet touch hers under the desk. Giddy butterflies flew into her stomach immediately. This had started occurring ever since their close encounter over the desk. Anytime he accidently touched her under the table, spoke her name or glanced in her general direction, swarms of butterflies hurtled around in her abdomen. This time his feet did not move away from hers. He mustn't have felt the connection. Was the book he was reading that good? Suddenly she felt his feet on either side of hers, like they were caging them in. A sly peek over the top of his book gave him away and Hermione stared at him.

'Don't leave just yet,' he mouthed to her. Was it getting warm in this library? Hermione tried to focus her mind on her work again, she hadn't intended to leave as soon as the Librarian had spoken and now she didn't want to. His larger shoes totally enclosed her tiny size 4 feet and in some strange way this seemed to comfort her.

'I wonder if I could...' Hermione started to think to herself but she stopped herself suddenly as she realised where her train of thought was leading her. Could she get away with something as bold and brass as that? Could she actually do it? What would he think? Who cared?

Gently Hermione tried to lift her leg but found that she couldn't move her feet at all. 'Oh this might be interesting. Hermione Granger what has gotten into you?' Carefully she slipped a slender foot out of her shoe and crossed her leg. Ever so subtly she moved her now free foot to rest against the calf of Cedric's right leg. Peeking at him slyly from her essay she noticed him move slightly. His book lowered by an inch and he peeked over the rim. Hermione buried herself in her essay and pretended to not notice a thing. When he went back to his reading she peered at him again and bit her lip to stop herself from giggling.

Slowly she started to move her foot to an unknown beat causing her foot to rub up against Cedric's calf. Noticeably this time he lowered his book and gave Hermione a look which she was surprised to see. A smirk, which really should have been on the face of Draco Malfoy, rested on his amazing lips. Pretending not to notice anything she continued to rub her foot up and down his calf muscle, each motion getting slower and longer than the previous one. It soon got to the stage where Hermione was running her foot from the bottom of Cedric's ankle all the way up to his knee.

"2 minutes!" called out Madam Pince. Hermione faltered at the sound and looked up. Immediately she was captured by a pair of burning, steel grey eyes. As she became lost in them a faint voice in her head was telling her to keep going while another scolded her for her brass move. Her foot started from the bottom of his ankle once more, their eyes remained connected as she started her ascent. His toned leg was now familiar to her tiny foot and once she got to his knee his burning eye told her not to stop. Millimetre by millimetre she passed his knee and reached uncharted territory. His thigh was so strong and powerful and as her cheeks glowed and her breathing started to increase she jumped. He'd grabbed her foot.

"I didn't know you had that in you Miss. Granger," Cedric murmured as he held Hermione's foot gently.

"Neither did I Mr. Diggory." What was she saying? Who was this girl that was talking in her place? Hermione mentally kicked herself but secretly enjoyed the fact that he was now running his free hand over her tiny foot. It was soothing and exciting at the same time. She wished he would continue but unfortunately she was not going to get her wish.

"The Library is now closed. Pack up your things and go to you common rooms." Stupid bird-woman!

In that instant Cedric let go of her foot, tidied up his things and waited for her to do the same. Once Hermione was finished, and had her foot back in her shoe, they headed out of the library into the deserted hall.

"I think I like studying with you Hermione," Cedric told her, his smooth tenor trembling delicately. Hermione cleared her throat. As she looked at him she couldn't push away the feeling that she was actually going to miss this boy when they parted.

"I like studying with you too." Her answer was docile which caused Cedric to chuckle. His hand made its way to her chin and he lifted her head up to meet his. The burning quality was back in his eyes. They looked like liquid mercury.

"We should study together more often," and as he said that he moved in closer to her and kissed her confidently on the lips. Electricity was all she could feel coursing through her body. Her mind felt numb and her arms just didn't know what to do with themselves and before she knew it she lost the chance to figure out what to do with them. He broke away leaving her with a feeling of sudden loneliness.

"Tomorrow same time, same place?" he asked her in a murmur which made her skin tingle. "I'd like that." His grin filled her with emotions she never knew she had and as he left for his dormitory Hermione Granger concluded that maybe she shouldn't give up on love as it might exist after all.

* * *

**A/N: Any good? Surprisingly I found that chapter quite difficult to write....odd lol REVIEW :D**


	3. Light

**I want to thank you all for you fabulous support and amazing reviews!! Here is the third installment of the 100 stories challenge about Hermione and Cedric. The Ending in this one is a bit crappy so please do excuse it lol I didn't know what else to write. Thanks again! Enjoy xxx**

_Disclaimer: Sadly I own none of this :(_

**Light**

Hermione Granger loved the summer. She loved the heat, the long nights, the bright light of the mornings, she loved everything. She especially loved Hogwarts during the summer.

"Over here Harry!"

"No over here Harry I'm open!"

Hermione sighed heavily as a Quaffle flew over her head and into the hands of Justin Finch-Fletchley. She tried to focus herself on her book as she sat on her lovely, soft blanket in the heat of the sun. She tried with all her might and as soon as she had zoned into the book and could see the Characters and the foreign places around her a huge red Quaffle slammed into her back.

"OUCH! Would you guys watch what you're doing!" Hermione yelled out in pain and severe anger. All she got in return was a 'sorry Herms' and then more noise. Her grumble was muffled by the boisterous laugh of Peter Murphy, a 4th year Ravenclaw who was definitely one of the most annoying Ravenclaw's that Hermione had ever the pleasure of meeting. The made up game continued on and soon Hermione found herself surrounded by quite a few young male students.

"Herms you're kind of in the way of our game," Harry mumbled to her as he kneeled down by her side. Her eyes narrowed, was he trying to move her out of the beautiful sunlight?

"So?" she asked tartly, "Can't you just go and play somewhere else and let me sit in the sun?" Harry inhaled sharply and shook his head.

"Sorry but we have too many people now and to move somewhere else would be to move far more people than just you." The young witch felt like growling in frustration. Cautiously she peeked around her shoulder and seen the Hogwarts grounded littered with a vast majority of the student population. Moaning loudly Hermione stood up abruptly and grabbed her blanket.

"I hope you're happy Harry," she hissed bitterly. Harry merely returned her hostile mood with a cheerful smile and a wink. "You know I am. Ron and I will make it up to you I promise," the green eyed wizard told her, his voice lighter than the air surrounding them. Her sigh evoked a chuckle from one of her best friend in the whole world and she trudged off to the nearest spot she could find. Under the big oak tree, great, how was she supposed to keep warm in the shade? Well at least it was still light.

* * *

Once again her reading was interrupted. 'I swear I'm going to vanish that Quaffle into oblivion!' Hermione thought venomously to herself as she threw her book to the ground and picked up the Quaffle which had just struck her on the knee. She glared at the dirty red ball for a moment or too. It wasn't as hard as she had though a Quaffle would have been. She expected it to have the surface of a cricket ball, but instead it was more like a sturdy basketball. It was completely solid, but that still didn't change the fact that it didn't really hurt her as much as it should have.

"Hey Hermione. Can I have the Quaffle please?" a smooth, tenor voice pulled her from her inner ramblings and back into reality. She looked up to see a pair of cool, steel grey eyes staring right back at her. His hair was dripping with sweat and his cheeks were tinged pink.

"Hello Cedric. Here you go, please don't let it come my way again," Hermione said to the 7th year Hufflepuff with an exhausted grin. Just as she said that her eyes caught on to something she should have noticed as soon as she'd seen him. He wasn't wearing a t-shirt. He was completely bare-chested. She had to try very hard not to let her mouth dangle open like an idiot. As she handed him the red ball which she hated because it seemed to love to strike her, she couldn't help but stare at his flexing muscles. His years on the Quidditch team had done wonders for his body. He couldn't have been any better sculpted even if a professional sculptor had carved him out of stone. Broad shoulders, lean arms, chiselled chest, washboard stomach and hard legs, Cedric Diggory had a bloody gorgeous body and his perfectly angelic face heightened that factor. High cheek bones, full lips, shimmering eyes, straight nose and straight, pearly white teeth which was framed with wavy, coffee coloured hair, Hermione was surprised she was actually able to restrain herself.

"Don't worry, I'll keep it a safe distance from you. Enjoy your book," Cedric told her in a gentlemanly fashion as he flashed a winning smile at her. Hermione's heart skipped several beats and as he ran back into the game Hermione regretted telling him to keep the ball away from her.

* * *

Time went on and as the strange game the boys had invented continued Hermione found that she was reading less and less of her book. She was transfixed. Simply and utterly mesmerised. Cedric Diggory was just an awesome specimen of a man. He was what every man should be. He was tall, good looking, had a wonderful personality, he was humorous, a born leader and to top that all off he was topless and glistening. Usually Hermione found sweaty men repulsive. In fact looking at a sweaty topless Ron had caused her to go back to her book for a couple of moments but Cedric was different. The sweat clung to his body, curving around every muscle, glistening in the light of the sun. His hair, unlike the other boys, was not completely plastered to his head by the dampness. It was more wavy than normal and stuck up in messy tufts.

'Hermione Granger you are a _pervert_,' she thought to herself as she indulged in the sight of Cedric's firm posterior in his well fitted, yellow shorts. As the made up game started to get more violent, i.e. it started to take on the qualities of a rugby match, Hermione found herself squirming in pleasure. The boys had taken up positions that looked like a half hearted attempt at a 'line-out' throw seen in rugby matches. Cedric was currently in a group which was trying to lift up Dean Thomas. As the group lifted Cedric's entire body stretched giving Hermione a very clear view of his taut body. Sheer power was emanating from him causing Hermione to flush slightly.

'Wow,' the intelligent witch thought to herself as Cedric's body relaxed. She'd never seen anything like him before. He was now standing alone in the middle of the area which the game now occupied. One hand was on his hip and the other was shielding his vision from the sunlight. After a couple of moments both of his hands fell to his thighs and he bent over. He was taking, slow, deep breaths and was still watching the others boys. Hermione leaned forward. The light was illuminating everything. The beads of sweat on his forehead, the pinkness of his cheeks, the slight tan that was now forming on his arms and the ripples of his washboard stomach. Suddenly his gaze moved away from the boys and onto her. Hermione snapped back in instinct and pretended to have just put her book down.

"How's it going?" she called out to him, embarrassment flooding her mind. Why had she shouted out to him?

"Pretty good, the team I'm on is winning. Could I trouble you for a glass of water?" he called back to her as he squinted in the light.

Hermione got up immediately, wand in hand and practically skipped over to him. Once she got to him she conjured up a glass of water and handed it to him. A grateful smile was flashed her way before the thirsty boy started to drink. Hermione, whose legs near gave way, stared openly. She never knew how totally tantalising drinking water could be. He drank in long, slow gulps. The movement of his oesophagus as he swallowed encouraged beads of sweat to roll seductively down his neck. Even the sound of him gulping down the clear, cool liquid sent tiny shocks through Hermione's system. Once he was done he looked at Hermione with awe glinting in his steel coloured eyes.

"I didn't know you could conjure never ending glasses of water," Cedric said to her with a chuckle as he looked from Hermione to the full glass of water. The Gryffindor girl blushed lightly, "It took me a while to master it, but yes I can."

"That's really amazing." His voice was soft and gentle like newly spun silk. Hermione felt her heart flutter in her chest. "Thanks Hermione," he said to her and with that he poured some water into his hand and splashed it onto his face. Hermione's heart thudded as she watched a single drop of clear liquid glint and drip off his perfect nose.

"You're w-welcome," Hermione replied to him slightly breathless. With a smile Cedric stroked Hermione's cheeks gently and then trotted off towards the other boys. Standing in the middle of the grounds Hermione let out the breath that she hadn't realised she'd held. Peeking over her shoulder she found Cedric grabbing the ball from some unsuspecting 6th year. In that moment she praised everything that was good and holy in the world for Cedric Diggory and the glorious sunlight which made him shine like the Greek God that he was.

* * *

**A/N: Sooooooooooo??? What did you all think? Horrible or not lol REVIEW!**


	4. Dark

**Yes Hello again. A quick update if I do say so myself hehehe. Thank you all so much for your great reviews, and they all came so quickly!!! I was so chuffed and overwhelmed lol Thank you thank you thank you. This chapter is a little shorts than the previous ones I hope that's alright. Please read and Enjoy! xxx**

_Disclaimer: If I owned it do you think I'd be writing fanfiction about it?_

**Dark**

It was too dark. I couldn't breathe, were the walls closing in on me? Why did I have to be the butt of this prank? If I ever found out who'd locked me in this broom closet I'd find them and make them pay.

"Somebody get me out of here!" My voice was hoarse from the vast amount of shouting I'd done in the space of what felt like 2 hours. The throbbing in my hands was getting to be unbearable. As I shoved them into my pockets my gut clenched when I felt the absence of my wand. The nasty, vile person who had decided that it was a splendid idea to lock me in a closet had stolen my wand as they forced me into this horrid, dark, dank and very smelly place. After I'd discovered that they had indeed taken my wand I proceeded to bang on the door with my hands, causing them to be in the state that they were in now.

"Can anybody hear me?" My gut clenched again at the dry, raspy sound of my own voice. A glass of water would have been good right about now. At the thought of water my tongue decided to dry up. Great I was stuck in a smelly broom closet and was now desperate for a drink of water.

'I wonder who that vicious monster was,' I pondered as I tried to forget about the darkness around me. Several names popped into my head all at once and every single one of them came from Slytherin. Pansy Parkinson was a likely candidate. She just despised me and I can't think why she would other than the fact that I'm in Gryffindor. Even thought the prankster's hands felt like male hands Pansy was still an option, everyone knew she had manly sized hands. I had to rule out Crabbe and Goyle. They were far too stupid to do anything without Malfoy being there to supervise them. It was coming up to curfew so they probably would have been sneaking down to the kitchens anyway to get their daily midnight snacks.

'That leaves only one person. The rest couldn't have done it either as they don't really have a good reason to,' I concluded in my head. Draco Malfoy had to be the prime suspect. I had beaten him again in a potions essay and he was probably out for revenge. He was known for that. There was one time back in 2nd year he torched a Ravenclaws Transfiguration essay just because they had beaten him in Charms class earlier on in the day.

'What a little rat!' I was seething with rage. The little prick was just so spiteful and couldn't handle any form of competition. A smirk appeared on my lips, 'He's just going to have to live with it. That putrid snake can't scare me.'

* * *

Dancing about didn't help either. I really needed to go to the bathroom now. I'd lost track on how long I'd been stuck in the broom closet but I knew that it was long enough as I really needed to go to the toilet.

"Help me! Somebody help me!" I screeched as I started to bang my raw hands on the door. I kept banging and banging until I knew my hands couldn't take anymore. They throbbed like they had their own heartbeat and the heat radiating from them was immense.

'What was that?' Something had moved in the darkness and it didn't sound like unstable cleaning equipment.

'Eek!' I thought as I jumped, hearing the noise again from above my head. The gloom of the confined space was starting to stress me out. I couldn't see what was making that noise and if I didn't find out what it was soon I'd so crazy. Suddenly I felt something flutter around my face. Oh God I knew what it was and as my heart started to beat faster and faster I felt the scream rising up from the bottom of my gut.

"AHH MOTH!" I screamed in terror. I'd hated moths since I was a small child and now I was trapped in a dark, smelly broom closet with one...or maybe more.

"Get me out, get me out, get me out, get me OUT!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as I began to beat the door again. I didn't care that my hands were almost about to blister, I didn't care that I was starting to hyperventilate; all I wanted was to get out of this prison. Suddenly the door fell away from my hands and light flooded my eyes. I fell forward and almost excepted to hit solid ground but I was caught by a pair of strong, gentle arms.

"Hermione Granger?" My brain couldn't register who my saviour was and for a long moment I didn't have the courage to open my eyes to see who it was. My chest was heaving and my hands were numb. Thinking straight wasn't an option for me at the moment, I really needed to calm down and stop thinking about how I was stuck in the dark with a horrid moth.

"Are you alright Hermione?" I felt a hand rub up and down my back. It was soothing and it made my tense muscles loosen up slightly. I felt a finger under my chin and felt my saviour lifting my head up. My eyes fluttered open and I gasped.

"Cedric?" He smiled at me warmly, his white teeth shinning in the dim light.

"I heard you scream. I was doing my duties and when I entered this corridor I heard you. Who locked you in the closet?" His voice was kind and caring and it made me feel safe.

"I...I'm not too sure. I think it might have been Draco Malfoy but I don't have any proof. I didn't see them when they pushed me in there." I felt like an idiot. I had no evidence that Malfoy had forced me into that closet and in my head I sounded like a naive 6 year old. With a pink blush tinting my cheeks I looked Cedric in the eyes.

"They took me wand," I said, my voice sounding on the verge of tears. I felt incomplete without my wand and the prospect of never finding it was a scary thought to me. The Hufflepuff chuckled lightly and reached a hand into his pocket.

"This might be yours then," Cedric said lightly as he showed me a wand. My eyes grew wide, it was _my_ wand!

"Where did you find this?" I asked, thoroughly shocked that Malfoy or whoever the prankster was, had dropped my wand and had not kept it with them.

"I found it in the 5th floor corridor. I picked it up and intended to hand it in to Professor Flitwick after my duty was over. But now I have no need as I found its owner." His smile was so charming that I felt my heart flutter which was odd as my heart never fluttered for anyone else, not even the person I adore.

"Thank you so much Cedric," I said. I was becoming more and more aware that he was still holding me. My cheeks seared. "You're welcome," he replied to me and with that he hugged me. My heart stopped. His arms were so gentle around me, I shivered. Deciding that I didn't want to be rude I slide my arms around his neck. He smelled like heaven. His luxurious hair was soft against my cheek. I felt him pull back and we stopped hugging each other.

"Would you like me to walk you back to your common room?" he asked sweetly. The smile on my face was small and shy, "That would be nice," I answered him quietly. He grinned and I glanced back at the broom closet quickly before we left. With Cedric beside me it didn't seem so dark anymore.

* * *

"Goodnight Hermione," Cedric whispered to me as we reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. The portrait grunted awake and glared at me with disapproving eyes. I suppressed a chuckle.

"Goodnight Cedric and thanks again for rescuing me from the closet." He gave me a wink and answered in a gentlemanly manner, "You're most welcome." As he walked away a thought occurred to me.

"Good luck in the final task tomorrow!"

* * *

**A/N: I know the ending is a little bit lame but...I think it's kind of dark, maybe even a little sinister as we know what happens in the final task :( What are your thoughts? REVIEW xxx**


	5. Seeking Solace

**Oh my gosh! All of your reviews are amazing thank you all so much for your support!!!!! Big hugs and kisses to you all xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox!!!!! I hope you all like this little one here, didn't take me long to think of the idea but took me a little longer to write it lol. Apologies for any grammer or spelling error :D Enjoy!**

_Disclaimer: I honestly do not own it!!!_

**Seeking Solace**

She ran as fast as she could. Her lungs were on fire and her vision was blurred. It felt like a swarm of bees was inside her head and each one of them was stinging her.

"Why m-me?" she choked out as she ran down a black, deserted corridor. It would lead her to the entrance hall and to the front door. From there she would keep on running until she reached the far edges of the school grounds. When she got there her mind would go blank and she'd work on impulse. Her anger was raging but even though she was frantic she still knew that acting like this over something stupid was rather silly.

Her feet hit the marble staircase and she practically flew down it. Why hadn't anyone followed her? Harry or Ginny, it wouldn't have mattered, all she needed was for _someone_ to console her, someone who would provide her with some sort of solace. She was almost at the door now, a few more feet and she would be out in the fresh night air. Before she managed to reach the door however it opened and she ran straight into a very solid body.

"What the..." said a silky voice in a startled tone. Hermione Granger felt a pair of hands grab her lightly by her shoulders. She was pushed back slightly and when she looked up her blurry vision was captured by a set of cool, grey eyes which she did not recognise.

"Are you alright?" asked the boy whom she was unfamiliar with. Tears leaked from her eyes like a faulty tap and she muttered wetly, "I'm fine." Forcing herself out of the boys grip she proceeded to run out into the grounds. It was raining quite heavily but that didn't matter.

"Hey wait up!" Hermione turned, the boy had followed her and only now that her head was clear could she see that he was wearing a Hufflepuff Quidditch kit. He was absolutely soaking, his chestnut hair was plastered to his head and a smear of muck crossed his cheek.

"You shouldn't be out here all alone. The dementors might find you and lord only knows what they'd do to you." He sounded familiar and after a couple of minutes Hermione began to recall where she'd seen him before.

"You're the Hufflepuff seeker aren't you?" she asked him, hiccoughing lightly as she spoke. Gryffindor had played Hufflepuff in a match not too long ago. Harry and this boy had been in a rapid race to grab the snitch until the dementors arrived and wreaked havoc in the air. Harry's broom had been smashed to bits by that insane tree.

"Yeah I am. Cedric Diggory's the name but more importantly, are you alright?" His tone was very concerned and Hermione suddenly felt an ironic smile creep onto her lip.

"I'm not actually," she told him as more tears started to fall from her eyes. Even though it was raining and they were both getting wet Cedric still knew that she was crying. His smile was kind and considerate and he moved closer to the distressed Gryffindor.

"Want to talk about it?" Cedric asked her in a calm friendly manner. Hermione bit her lip. Her problem was very trivial; in fact she failed to see the reason why she ran out here in the first place.

"It's stupid really. You wouldn't want to hear it," she mumbled sadly, annoyed at her own childishness. More tears escaped from her puffy red eyes. She felt isolated, cut off from everything but that all changed when Cedric came up to her and put an arm around her shoulder. The rain was freezing yet somehow his hand felt warm.

"It will make you feel better if you talk about it. It doesn't matter how stupid it is, I'll listen," Cedric whispered to her softly. His breath tickled her ear and she smiled slightly. Hermione looked at him through watery eyes and murmured, "Okay."

"Great, now let's get out of his rain before we freeze...or worse," Cedric said brightly, the threat of dementors catching them sounding like a very unlikely factor.

* * *

Hot chocolate ran slowly down her throat. It warmed her very core and made her smile even though she didn't feel like smiling.

"Better?" Cedric asked her as he set down his own cup of hot chocolate. The distraught Gryffindor nodded her head slowly and kept her eyes on the floor.

"Can I ask...why did you not want to go to your dorm to get dry clothes? Why'd I have to bring you some of mine?" Cedric asked her in a friendly tone. She glanced at him and then glanced at herself. She looked ridiculous in his red t-shirt and pair of black tracksuit bottoms. They drowned her tiny frame but she had her reasons.

"Because the cause of my distress is in my common room. I don't feel like seeing him at the moment." Her voice was dry and strained so she took another warming gulp of chocolate. Cedric looked at her perplexedly as a house elf trotted up to them with a platter of biscuits.

"Thank you Pinkie," Cedric thank the house elf nicely. He then turned back to her, "Who do you mean when you say 'him'?"

Hermione sighed and stared dejectedly at her clothes which were hanging in front of the Kitchen fire. As she watched them drip lightly onto the floor tears pricked in the corners of her eyes. "I don't think you'll know him but when I say 'him' I mean Ronald Weasley."

"The younger brother of the twins?" Cedric asked her. Hermione nodded her head again and sighed once more. "What's he done?"

"This is going to sound really stupid and childish but he is blaming my cat for the disappearance of his idiotic pet rat."

Cedric's brow furrowed. "It not that childish Hermione. If he has no evidence that your cat did it then he shouldn't accuse you." Hermione let out a small chuckle, "Try telling that to him. He was so mean about it; he wouldn't let me argue my case. The reason I got so upset was because of the way he was talking to me, shouting and screaming and treating me as if I were a 5 year old."

"That would be very upsetting. Why did you choose to run like that?" Cedric's voice showed no traces of judgment or scrutiny and Hermione found herself trusting the boy more and more by the second.

"I didn't even think about it, I just did it. It was like a gut reaction, my feet moved of their own will. I just couldn't handle it anymore." This was true. She'd grown weary of the fights she had with Ron. They were supposed to best friends, and the crush that she was harbouring for him just made it seem all the worse. Cedric sighed quietly beside her and she felt his warm hand rest on top of hers.

"Running away from conflict is never really a solution. It has to be met head on. It may sound hard and your feet may not want to take you in that direction but it will work out better in the long run," Cedric told her gently as he took her hand in his. Their hands were like extreme opposites. He never thought that his hands were overly large but when he held Hermione's petite hand in his he felt like some sort of giant. He could tell that she was mulling things over in her mind and knew almost instantly when she'd come to a conclusion. Her eyes seemed to regain some light and her grip tightened ever so slightly.

"You're right. I have to confront this problem; it's the only way I'm going to get past it. You're really wise Cedric, thank you for your wonderful advise," Hermione said resolutely as she stared straight into the 5th year boys' eyes. He smiled warmly at her and held her hand tighter.

"Glad to be of service," he said with a chuckle. He held her gaze for a long time and before he knew it his mind had gone completely blank. He leaned forward like a gravitational pull was forcing his to her. His body didn't seem to mind; in fact his mind didn't seem to mind either as it remained utterly blank. Her expression mirrored his, one of odd curiosity. As he got closer her eyes fluttered and closed lightly, her eyelashes resting delicately just above her cheeks. Their lips connected and they both jumped lightly. Cedric had never kissed that many girls before; in fact he'd only ever kissed 2 and they had been nothing like this one. Just the lightest touch sent a spark down his spine, made him feel in places he'd never felt before and sent his unthinking mind into a spiral.

Hermione's heart felt like it was going to burst out through her chest. She was kissing a boy she'd only just become acquainted with. She didn't even have feeling for him...did she? Her mind was racing but as the kiss continued it slowed down and turning into a mild buzz. This kiss was rather nice, especially for her first one. It made her insides explode every second it lasted. She was so warm she thought she might pass out if he stopped. It was like someone had dumped a pile of glitter behind her eyelids and was now shinning their wand on her. Who'd of thought that finding solace would have lead to this?

"Oh..." she said breathlessly as their kiss ended. Her eyes remained closed for a mere second but when she opened them she suddenly became frightened. What had she done? She'd kissed someone she barely knew. Her fear made her feel guilty as her thoughts turned to Ron, her supposed crush.

"I'm sorry Cedric...thank-you for the advise but I have to go," she muttered quickly as she jumped up, grabbed her semi-dry clothes and dashed out of the kitchen. Cedric stared after her, ashamed that he'd scared her away.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast Cedric sat alone eating his toast and reading the Daily Prophet. A steaming mug of coffee sat to his right. He hadn't slept much the night before, worrying that he'd offended Hermione but kissing her so abruptly. It had been highly out of Character for him as well but he wasn't too concerned about that, he was more concerned about her. Suddenly a large school owl landed beside him. He stared at it for a moment and then noticed the neatly folded package attached to its leg. He thanked the owl and took the package. As he unwrapped it a note fell onto his lap.

_**Dear Cedric**_

_**Thank you for letting me borrow your clothes.**_

_**Meet me tonight.**_

_**Hermione**_

Cedric smiled lightly and glanced at the Gryffindor table. Hermione was delicately eating a bowl of cereal. Maybe he hadn't scared her off after all.

* * *

**A/N: Sooooooo.....what did you think about it being set in Hermione's 3rd year? Plausable or not? Cute or weird? REVIEW!! xxxx**


	6. Break Away

**Hello all! Sorry for the delayed update but my brain just didn't seem to want to write this story lol. But I've finally gotten it finished and I must confess that it isn't my best work so in the next chapters I shall try my best to make them better! Enjoy xxx**

_Disclaimer: The fact that I don't own Harry Potter brings a tear to my eye_

**Break Away**

"Come on Hermione we're going to miss everything!" Ginny squeaked as she threw her hair brush onto her bed and darted for the door. Hermione continued to gape at herself in the mirror. She didn't recognise herself at all. Ginny had a radical idea that for the annual Weasley summer party Hermione should try a different look. Her persuasion had more or less been to 'break away' from the boring, old bookworm look.

"I'm not so sure about this Gin. I look...odd," Hermione said as she ran her fingers through her unnaturally straight hair. Her eyes were coated in makeup that she had in the past refused to wear. She didn't like the thought of covering up her natural look. In all honesty she may not be a beauty queen but she was proud of her features. On an occasion such as this one Hermione would have worn a long flowing summer dress but as part of Ginny's master plan she was now wearing a knee length, pale blue, strapless number with a white cardigan. She'd never shown this much leg before.

"You look great stop worrying! Now come on Fred and George are about to start their entertainment!" With that said Ginny ran back over to the stressing witch, grabbed her wrist and dragged her down to the back garden.

* * *

Everyone was present. The garden was packed with the entire Weasley family and all of their friends. Hermione's cheeks turned a brilliant shade of pink as Ginny paraded her out into the crowd. She became horribly aware of the snapping of her white flip-flops as she walked and started to get very paranoid about a sudden gust of wind blowing her dress up.

"Wow Hermione you look great!" Harry Potter said rather loudly as he pranced up to Ginny's side. Hermione grumbled under her breath which caused Harry to smile and wink at Ginny. He and the only female Weasley sibling had been a couple for a long time now and any time Harry did anything for Ginny she turned beetroot red and started giggling and now was just such a time. Hermione rolled her eyes and continued on in her parade.

"Hey Herms. What's with the dress?" Hermione gritted her teeth. Why did Ron have to shout everything he said? Ron was the youngest of the Weasley boys and had once been the centre of Hermione's world, alongside school that is.

"Ginny forced me into it," Hermione told him sharply. Ron took a step back from her and laughed, "Okay I was just asking, no need to bite my head off." Hermione continued to grumble and blush as Ginny forced her towards the table where all the food was kept. As soon as Hermione had filled her plate Fred and George started the evening's entertainment.

* * *

Hermione hated feeling awkward. She currently was standing in a group of people whom she'd met on only one occasion before. They were members of Arthur's side of the family who lived in Sweden and only made it to the annual summer parties once every 3 years give or take. They were talking about things she didn't have a clue about. As she stood there awkwardly trying to make conversation a hand rested on her shoulder.

"Hermione I didn't recognise you." Thank God for a familiar voice. Hermione turned around and stood face to face with Cedric Diggory. Since he'd left school Hermione had only seen Cedric at these parties and every once in a while in Diagon Alley. He worked in the Ministry in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. It was rumoured that in a couple of year's time he would be in the running for the Head of the Department when the current Head retired.

"Cedric so good to see you," Hermione said cheerfully, grateful that she had a reason to get out of her current awkward situation.

"It's good to see you too, how have you been?" Cedric asked the girl he barely recognised. He knew it was Hermione Granger but she looked so different since the last time he'd seen her so he was finding it hard to adjust.

"Really good thank-you. I've been studying like crazy for my Healer exams," she said enthusiastically. Cedric grinned at her, "Are you in your final year now?" he asked as he ran his fingers through his stylishly messy hair.

"No I still have 2 years left before I become a qualified Healer but that doesn't mean I have time to laze around," the eager witch told him as she practically bobbed up and down on her toes. He laughed at her energy and then asked her the question which was burning on his tongue.

"When did you get your new look?" he asked tentatively, shoving one of his hands in his trouser pocket. Hermione mentally sighed, "Ginny wanted me to 'break away' from my old bookworm look and so tonight she made me her little project. Instead of wearing what I wanted to wear, and looking the way I wanted to look, I now have this," she stated and she swayed her hand down her body.

Cedric could tell that she wasn't impressed with Ginny's 'plan' and smiled warmly. "You look quite ravishing actually but yes I must admit I hardly knew you when I seen you tonight. I had to ask Charlie who you were. I felt terrible when I realised that it was you. Sorry about that."

"No need to be sorry I know I look like a stranger. I actually feel like one." It was true she did. People were looking at her in a way which made her feel like a newcomer. Hermione stared at her toes and let her shoulders slump. Cedric couldn't help but feel for the girl he'd known since his school days. A thought occurred to him and then he grabbed Hermione's hand. Her head snapped up and her eyes grew wide.

"Come on let's get out of here," Cedric whispered to her as he gave her a small wink. Her heart thumped uncharacteristically and she nodded her head. Before she knew it she was being swept away from the awkwardness by someone very unexpected.

* * *

"This is beautiful," Hermione whispered in awe as she and Cedric sat in the long grass. Cedric smiled absentmindedly to himself as he gazed at the sunset. He'd came to this particular hill often when he was a young boy. The majestic colours of the sunset had always tantalised his mind and senses and this very hill was the perfect spot to view its wonders.

"Yeah I really love this place," he said softly as he ran his hand through the long grass. It tickled his fingertips and he chuckled.

"What's so funny?" asked Hermione. Cedric looked at her thoughtfully and mumbled, "The grass tickles my hand." He sounded like an idiot. How was he ever going to get close to this woman if he said stupid things like that? Hermione's straight hair floated lightly in the cool evening breeze, making her look even more radiant.

"For the first time ever I'm glad I'm away from that party. No one is staring at me now," her tone was undecided. She sounded happy yet sad at the same time. Cedric blinked hard and looked away from her; he'd been staring while she was speaking. He mentally kicked himself.

"No one was staring at you," Cedric told her softly. Hermione laughed out loud and looked over at him. His eyes were glistening in the fading rays of the sun. Her heart squeezed tightly and she quickly had to look away from him. What was happening to her?

"Yes they were. I stuck out like a sore thumb."

"A pretty sore thumb though."

"You think I'm pretty?" Still gazing at the sunset Hermione sat up straighter and turned slightly from him. He probably only thought she was pretty because of the stupid project that Ginny had turned her into. Her straight hair continued to flutter in the light breeze and her eyes, which were heavy with make-up started to sting.

"I've always thought you were pretty," Cedric whispered as he too sat up straighter and turned towards her. Her gaze was now on the dry ground beneath them. He smiled and gently grabbed her chin and turned her head so that she was looking at him. His eyes burned into hers and he noticed that tears were starting to line her eyes.

"You have?" Her voice was wavering slightly but Cedric could still tell that she was confused. He laughed and stroked her cheek, "Of course I have. Since the first day I met you I've always thought that you were pretty. I just never did anything because I seen how much Ron liked you and didn't want to make things complicated and weird."

"Why are you only saying this now when I'm different?" Hermione sounded cynical and Cedric sighed and continued to stroke her cheek. "You're not different; you're still the same Hermione that you've always been. It doesn't matter how you look because you'll always be beautiful to me." She felt her heart squeeze again, was it getting warm out here? Cedric moved in closer to her, her breathing started to hitch in her throat; he was going to kiss her. Just as his lips brushed hers a voice shouted in the distance.

"Cedric! Hermione! Come down here! Dessert's ready!"

Cedric's forehead rested against Hermione's and they both chuckled. Was it irony? He gazed into her eyes and could tell that she was a lot happier than she had been a couple of seconds ago.

"Come on let's go," he whispered, his breath tickling her skin playfully. Hermione's smiled widely and took his hand in hers. She knew walking back into the party hand in hand with Cedric would draw more attention to her but for some reason that didn't seem to bother her anymore.

* * *

**A/N: Yes pathetic I know but I shall try harder next time :D REVIEW xxxxx**


	7. Innocence

**Well hello again, it has been a long time hasn't it. I must appologise for my lack in updates, I was utterly swamped with University work and revision, however University is over now for the summer and I am as free as a bird!!! YAY! I was planning on taking this challenge in order, but after Break Away I got stuck on the next topic so I've decided to skip one and move on with the rest. I'll come back to the one I skipped when I get the inspiration. A note on this chapter, it might be a little lame and cutesie for most people but I do have to admit that I like this one lol. So sorry again for the lack of updates and I hope you ENJOY!! xxxx**

_Disclaimer: Nothing is what I own!!!_

**Innocence**

My face glowed a bright red. This was not the sort of thing I wanted to talk about in public. I didn't know these guys could be so...vulgar.

"Cedric you agree with me with? You would bang her all night!" I looked at the boy who was speaking to me. His name was Patrick O'Hare and he came from Ireland. When we first met he'd been a quiet boy who'd shy away from any sort of rambunctious discussions. As he grew up however he'd started to come out of his shell and hearing him use this sort of language in conversation made me shiver. I wish he had stayed the way he had been when we were young, he was nicer then.

"She is very pretty but could we please not be so crude," I told Patrick lightly knowing that my plea for decent conversation would fall on deaf ears. A barrage of laughter was sent my way and I groaned, all too aware that teasing was coming my way.

"Ced you're too innocent!" exclaimed John Michaels, one of our friends from Ravenclaw. I rolled my eyes and grabbed a book out of my bag. I didn't want to be a part of this anymore.

"Have you ever had sex?" My eyes practically flew out of my sockets as I turned and glared at Simon Connor, the boy who had asked the blatant question.

"That is none of your business," I said heatedly as the group of boys began to laugh once again.

"Your answer just proved it. Cedric's a virgin!" laughed Simon as he high-fived Patrick. The boys began to tease and taunt and I tried to ignore them as I turned back to my book. I tried my best to read but their jibes kept penetrating my thoughts and after about 5 minutes I could take no more.

"Shut up! Alright I haven't had sex who cares?" I half-shouted not wanting the entire courtyard to hear my confession. Why couldn't I just enjoy break-time like everyone else? John looked at me sternly and then looked at the other boys. He sighed heavily and then said "We care."

"Yeah that's right we do care. We want our little Cedric to become a man. First things first though we need to find out more," chirped Trevor Kent another boy from my dormitory. My eyebrows furrowed together, I didn't like where this new subject of conversation was going.

"Find out more of what?" I asked unsteadily. Mischievous eyes locked with mine and my stomach immediately began to tie up into painful knots. Trevor placed his hand onto my shoulder and chuckled darkly, "We need to find out what you have and haven't done."

* * *

"So basically you've never done anything with a girl. Cedric that's shameful," Simon said glumly as he looked at me. My face was still red with embarrassment and I was still angry that they had laughed at me when I'd told them that I'd never even held a girl's hand before.

"Right so it's our 6th year and we've all had girlfriends and what not so it's time to get you started. When are you putting your name into the goblet?" asked Trevor as he mulled things over in his mind. I thought for a moment and answered him slowly, "I was going to do it tonight."

"Brilliant! We can get you started then, all we need to do is find you the right girl," stated John as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"Oh and what am I supposed to do? Pop my name into the goblet, go up to a girl, grab her hand and k-kiss her?" I said sceptically as vivid images started to gallop through my mind. I was starting to regret telling my friends everything, now I didn't know what they had in store for me and this thought made me want to grab a broom and fly off into the distance.

"No stupid that's not how it's done! Don't worry we'll sort you out, now come on there's the bell we have to get back to class," Patrick told me in strong Irish brogue. I grimaced and followed my friends back into the castle.

* * *

It was almost time. I had the piece of paper with my name on it in my trouser pocket and my friends were standing behind me. This was going to be easy, nothing big, all I had to do was put a tiny piece of paper into a flaming goblet and then...well I didn't know what would happen then.

"Go on Ced you can do it!" exclaimed my friends as I walked slowly and steadily up to the age line. I had nothing to worry about, but I was uncomfortably aware of the many girls that were watching my every move. I passed through the line and reached the goblet. It was magnificent to look at. I took the piece of paper out of my pocket and reached up and dropped it into the flames. It was done; I was now entered as a possible participant for the Triwizard Tournament. Now for the uncomfortable stuff.

"Well done mate, now all we have to do is find you the right girl," Simon muttered to me as I rejoined the group. Half of my house was behind them and as I looked around the room I realised that it was packed full of students. I gulped and noticed the girls. Hufflepuff girls that I knew, Ravenclaw girls that I was acquainted with, Gryffindor girls I was aware of and Slytherin girls who intimidated me.

"We've been asking around and we've come up with a good few candidates for you," John whispered to me as we went and sat down on the nearest benches. My stomach flipped and I felt rather sick.

"Jessica Whitehouse, a 5th year from Ravenclaw. She's single but has had some very good experience if you know what I mean," Trevor told me as he pointed the girl out to me. My blood boiled and I glared at Trevor, "Jessica Whitehouse is my cousin!" I growled. The boys looked shocked and guilty but quickly moved on. As they pointed out the next girl to me my mind still mulled over the fact that my little cousin 'got around'.

"Natalie Bruce. She's a 6th year in Slytherin and," I quickly cut off John who was pointing towards the far corner of the room. "No I'm sorry but I will not go for Slytherin girls. It's not because of the house that they are in but for the pure fact that they scare me."

"Dude he makes a good point," piped up Graham Gardener, another boy from my dormitory. I smiled smugly as the boys ruled out every Slytherin girl that had been on their list. Patrick sighed and continued on to the next girl.

"Grace Faulkner, 4th year Hufflepuff," he said as he pointed the girl out to me. I was quick to step in and say no. "Why not? She's hot!" moaned Patrick. "What if I didn't like her in that way and she got attached? We'd have to see each other every day.

"Again he makes a good point," said Graham. Once again I smiled smugly and listened to them go through their list. After 6 more girls they got to one which surprised me.

"Hermione Granger, 4th year Gryffindor. She's single and I think she's just like you only she's a girl." I glanced at Trevor and then found Hermione Granger in the crowd. She was sitting on a bench minding her own business while her two friends were watching the people going up to the goblet.

"I honestly didn't think you'd have considered her," I told my friends honestly. My reasoning behind this was that every other girl they'd told me about from this 'list' had all been girls who had a bit of a reputation. The reputation was either that they were a bit tarty or that they were far too emotional and attached to boys really quickly. Hermione Granger, in my opinion, was anything but those factors. I didn't know much about her but to me she seemed very conservative, she knew her own mind, wouldn't let anyone walk all over her and was certainly not one bit tarty or an emotional wreck.

"We wouldn't have until we spoke to Fred and George Weasley. We found them making ageing potion in the boy's toilets and we thought we'd ask them about the girls in Gryffindor. They mentioned a couple of other girls first and then they mentioned her. They said she wasn't like any other girl that they knew, she was feisty and intelligent and we thought that if she were to get her own experience then she'd turn into the sort of girl that we might like to date," Simon told me as I continued to watch the girl read a book.

"That's where'd you'd come in mate. You'd give her her first kiss and then she'd get the hunger for it," Graham said mischievously. My blood boiled again but I didn't let my growing frustration with my friends spill over the edge. They were so vulgar.

"I think I'll go and talk to her," I said sounding more confident than I felt. As I walked in the direction of the girl in question words of encouragement reached my eyes and some rather crude suggestions. I growled once again.

* * *

"What are you reading?" I asked strongly as I sat down beside Hermione. She jumped slightly, set her book on her lap and stared at me all at the same time. I chuckled and smiled warmly at her. Her eyes were an amazing colour of brown. It was like looking into pots of melting chocolate.

"Uh...The magical wonders of healing potions," she told me, her voice shaking slightly due to her fright. "I'm sorry if I frightened you. I just seen you sitting here by yourself and thought I'd offer you some company," I told her softly as she marked her place in her book.

"Oh...thank you. I actually wasn't alone, my friends were here but they are now too engrossed by the events surrounding that goblet," she said as she glanced over at Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter, who were watching some boys from Durmstrang place their names into the fire.

"You said you were reading about healing potions, are you interested in them?" I asked, trying to keep her interest. My abdomen was now hurting due to the painful knots in my stomach. Her chocolate eyes lit up with excitement, "Yes I am interested in them. I want to be a Healer when I leave Hogwarts, so I thought that while I'm still here I should brush up on my knowledge of the field."

"Wow, you certainly are eager, but I admire that actually," I said as I looked deeply into her eyes. They were deep and so full of knowledge.

"You do?" she asked me, her voice laced with disbelief at my words. I chuckled again lightly and nodded my head. "It's hard not to admire a woman that knows what she wants." I spotted a faint tingle of red appear on her cheeks before she quickly changed topic.

"Did you put your name into the goblet today?" she asked me as she set her book down beside her and smoothed out her skirt. I glanced over to the flaming goblet and spotted my friends standing near it giving me the thumbs up and performing sexual manoeuvres. I mentally groaned and took my eyes off them.

"Yeah I did, all I have to do now is to wait and see what happens," I said happily gazing back into her mesmerizing eyes. She gave me her wishes of best luck and we drifted into an awkward silence. I nervously ran my fingers through my hair and glanced at the now silent girl. She was gazing off into space. Was I boring her? What if I was? Did this mean I couldn't talk to girls?

"What would you like to do when you leave Hogwarts?" she asked suddenly, returning back into our old conversation. I stared at her blankly for what seemed like an eternity. "I want to go into the Ministry," I told her as she turned to face me. Once again her eyes started to shine with excitement. "What department?" she asked inquisitorially. I grinned, "The Department of Magical Games and Sports, my uncle works there and he says it's an amazing job. I love sports so I'm thinking why not?"

"That's very clever," she told me and then went on to ask me about making my hobbies my job. While I answered her I couldn't help but feel exhilarated. Talking with Hermione was ten times easier than I thought and I was greatly enjoying her company. When she spoke she was passionate about what she was saying. She valued everything I said and she listened intently. When she spoke I got lost in her words and intellect. I'd never spoken to a girl who was as intelligent as she was. Our conversation moved from jobs onto family life and then onto school life. She'd read Hogwarts a History, one of my favourite books and so we talked about that for what must have been an hour. Before I knew it we were completely alone in the room with the Goblet of Fire.

"What time is it?" she asked as I looked at my watch. I could hardly believe it when I told her we'd just missed dinner. I never missed dinner, but this evening I didn't really care.

"Oh my goodness we've been talking for hours," she chuckled as she shifted in her seat. I grinned and laughed as well, "I know, I don't think I've ever talked with anyone for so long before." Her returning smile was radiant and her eyes sparkled in the lamplight.

"I've really enjoyed talking with you Cedric, I've never met anyone who love's Hogwarts a History as much as I do, but I'm afraid I have to back to my dormitory now. Those homework's won't start themselves you know," she said lightly as she grabbed her bag and stood up. Something inside me sank, I knew she had to go but I didn't want her to. I wanted to talk to her all night. My face must have shown my feelings as she quickly sat down again and said hurriedly, "Don't worry we'll talk again sometime."

"I know," I mumbled, sounding rather childish. She grabbed my hands, my heart jumped. "We'll talk tomorrow alright," she told me softly as she gazed deeply into my eyes. Was it starting to get warm in here? I wonder if I could turn the goblet down.

"Alright," I managed to say as I fought back the blush that was appearing on my cheeks. Her hands were so tiny and soft, a big contrast to my large slightly calloused ones. Her smile practically charmed me, "We can meet here again if you like," she said gently, her delicate thumbs running across my tense knuckles.

"Sounds like a plan," my throat was dry, I needed water. I smiled regardless of my thirst and she chuckled lightly. "Like I said I really enjoyed talking with you today Cedric. I'll see you tomorrow just after last class." As she began to stand up she suddenly leaned in and kissed my cheek tenderly. My heart stopped altogether. My grip slackened and her hands slid away, my eyes were dazed and as my mind started to go numb I whispered good night to her. She turned around just before the door and in her ever so charming voice called out to me, "Good night Cedric."

* * *

As I wandered back to my common room I couldn't help but relive the time I'd spent with Hermione Granger. I'd never experienced anything like it before, her intelligence, her wit, and her soft hands in mine...her tender lips against my cheek. A content sigh escaped from my lips as I entered into the common room.

"Welcome back Romeo," said a voice from beside the fireplace. I looked over and spotted Patrick, Simon, Trevor and Graham sitting in front of the fire playing exploding snap. Trevor stood up and beckoned me towards them.

"How'd it go?" he asked in a slightly suggestive voice. I remained silent as I was still consumed with my own thoughts.

"By the looks of him I'd say it went well," replied Patrick as I sat down onto the sofa. I snapped back into reality as the cards in front of the fire exploded. "Yeah it went great," I mumbled.

"Did you kiss her?" Simon asked outright. I stared at him for a moment or two and failed to answer. The boys began to look doubtful. "You kissed her right?" Simon asked again. I opened my mouth and tried to answer them but I couldn't. I hadn't done what they wanted me to but that didn't really matter. I had wanted to talk to Hermione and I had enjoyed it so that was all that mattered.

"No I didn't kiss her," I said finally, "but she kissed me on the cheek." My friends all groaned and looked at each other and then at me. "Cedric you're hopeless," Trevor moaned as Patrick began to clear up the exploded mess on the carpet. "You're always going to be the innocent one," he muttered as he vanished away the ashen remains. I grinned, so what if I was always going to be the innocent one, I didn't care, and all I cared about now was that I was going to see Hermione Granger tomorrow and have another amazing conversation with her.

* * *

**A/N: So was it any good? Yes? No? Maybe? REVIEW and tell me everything that was wrong with it lol ;D xxxxxx**


	8. Drive

**Another update in the same day??? Wow I'm on fire lol. This one is a little shorter that the rest but I think if it were any longer it would be boring lol. The direction of this story is sort of an exaggerated version of the way I study. Last month that was all that I, as well as writing my horrid essays. I had mountains of books around me and my right hand was so sore that even the bones hurt lol. But I wasn't as severe as Hermione is in this little ficlette...thank goodness haha. Okay so ENJOY!!!**

_Disclaimer: In an alternate universe I'd own this, but sadly I am in this universe so I own squat!!!_

**Drive**

She was exhausted. Completely drained of energy but her drive to do well was keeping her going. With each page she turned her will was telling her that this was the right way to do it. Her eyes may be finding it hard to focus and her stomach may be empty but this was right. Her hand had long gone past the stage of painful cramp and was now completely numb. The grip she had on her quill was frightening to say the least. If she put her quill down and tried to move her fingers she knew the numbness would disappear and her very bones would cry out in a pain so blisteringly terrible that she would cry.

"Hermione please stop, you've done enough for tonight please go to bed," Harry said to her as she turned the page of her giant book once again. She glared and snapped at him. Her nerves were raw and she usually shouted at people these days. Did he not realise that her NEWT's were important to her. He may only be doing a minimal amount of studying, that was up to him, but she was taking it to the max, she needed to get straight O's.

"Hermione come on you've been studying since breakfast," Ron moaned at her. He still couldn't understand that she was very emotional right now and didn't know how to talk to her. Her response was loud and uncaring; she was now a mere shadow of what she used to be. The boys soon left her and she continued to write, turning the pages every so often, gaining knowledge each time.

* * *

It was now well passed 1 o'clock in the morning. She'd been studying for a solid 18 hours, a new personal record. Her eyes drooped once again and when she realised that she could no longer see her parchment, with her free hand, she nipped herself on her cheek, forcing herself to remain awake. She dipped her quill into her ink pot but it was dry. 5 ink pots she'd used today, another personal best. As she bent down to get another pot from her bag she heard a voice.

"You can stop now Hermione."

It wasn't the voice of Ron or Harry, not even the voice of any of the portraits which had tried their best to make her go to bed on other nights. No this voice was oddly familiar and she hadn't heard it in a very long time. As tired as she was she bolted up from her bag and looked around the room. No one was there, then where had that voice come from? She bent down again and the voice returned.

"There's no more ink left."

Slowly this time she sat back up and gazed around the room. She gasped audibly as she spotted the person who owned the familiar voice. This couldn't be possible, it wasn't possible, there was certainly not a dead person standing in the middle of the common room.

"Cedric Diggory?" she said in utter disbelief. Her voice was raspy but still the shock was evident. Cedric smiled at her warmly. Clad in his Hufflepuff uniform he walked over to her.

"Yeah Hermione it's me."

"Why are you here? It's not possible!" Hermione said as she turned in her chair. She let go of her quill and winced as the pain of writing shot through her knuckles. Cedric chuckled gently as he stopped directly in front of her.

"I'm here to tell you to stop pushing yourself so hard. Your drive to succeed is amazing but Hermione if you don't stop now you could seriously damage yourself. You're already damaging your friends. They don't know you anymore. You've become a shell of your former self." His voice was caring yet stern at the same time. Hermione frowned.

"Damage myself? I will never do that and my friends just don't understand that I need to do well to get the success I desire," she was starting to lose her temper, who was he, a dead person, to go around telling her, a living breathing woman, that she was damaging herself and others. The very nerve of him.

"You can get angry with me all you like but it won't do you any good. Deep down you know what I'm telling you is true," Cedric said deeply as he leaned back against a chair. Hermione growled and let her temper go, she picked up a book and threw it at the boy who was telling her that she was wrong. The book hurtled towards him but to Hermione's amazement it sailed right through him. He laughed out loud, "That may work on Ron Weasley but it doesn't work on me. I'm dead remember."

"Leave me alone Cedric!" she exclaimed very loudly. She was sick of this; she should be studying, not talking to some...ghost, or whatever he was. Wincing again she picked up her quill and dipped it into the empty ink pot. A growl escaped her lips and she bent down to look for another ink pot. After searching for a good 5 minutes she realised that there were no more ink pots left in her bag.

"I told you that there was no more ink left."

Hermione frowned again and turned on him. "You must think you're so clever!" she hissed. Cedric grinned and nodded his head, "I am pretty clever yeah. Infinite knowledge does come to you whenever you die and if you continue on this destructive path Miss Granger then you might just receive infinite knowledge too."

"Shut up! Leave me alone!" Hermione yelled as she stood up but all too quickly she had to sit down again. The room was spinning, her head was light and her stomach was sore. Cedric placed a hand on her shoulder, "Look the damage is already starting," he whispered looking directly into her eyes. Suddenly she became frightened, the thought of suddenly fainting every time she got up flying through her overly packed mind.

"Damage..." she said vaguely. Once again Cedric nodded and knelt down beside her. "You're the smartest witch of your generation. You don't need to be studying as hard as you are. If you continue on like this you'll break down and have no friends to speak of. A beautiful young woman like you shouldn't have to go through that." His words calmed her and her world stopped spinning. She looked at him, still in disbelief that he was there and felt tears brim in her eyes.

"What do I do?" she mumbled. He smiled and took her hand, "That's simple. You have to take it easy. Apologise to Harry and Ron and to anyone you may have shouted at. Eat healthy meals morning, noon and night and make yourself up a sensible study rota which allows you to have a decent night's sleep." She couldn't feel his hand in hers due to the numb pain she had inflicted upon herself while writing so furiously.

"And that's all I have to do to get O's in my NEWT's?" she whispered, wiping away the tears which had fallen from her eyes. "That's it," he said gently, placing his other hand on her cheek. She couldn't feel his hand there either as she hand pinched her cheek so often to keep awake that it too was numb.

"So I won't fail?" she said with a light hiccough. Cedric grinned and rubbed his thumb against her now burning cheek. "Hermione Granger, fail? If you ever fail at anything I think I'd die again!"

"You can't die twice," she said, laughing for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. "Don't try to prove me wrong please," he replied lightly. Hermione grinned and then sighed, "I won't try to prove you wrong. I'll never fail I promise."

"That's my girl," Cedric said proudly as Hermione smiled pleasantly at him. Suddenly Hermione heard footsteps and looked over towards the boy's dormitory stairway. Harry and Ron emerged together and looked over at her.

"Hermione we heard to talking from our dorm," Ron said in a perplexed manner. Harry who stood beside him looked at her with a worried expression.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked, almost afraid that she would snap at him. Hermione looked from her friends to the space in front of her which was now empty. Her eyes widened with shock, where had Cedric gone? He'd been there a second ago.

"I was talking to...nobody," she answered, a little crestfallen. She couldn't have told them that she'd been speaking to the spirit...ghost...essence of Cedric Diggory; they would have thought she'd gone completely bonkers.

"Okay? Are you ready to go to bed now?" asked Ron as he and Harry went over to help Hermione out of her chair. She looked at them both and smiled. "Yes I am. I'm sorry I've been really mean to you two. I don't know what came over me," she said in an exhausted tone. Harry and Ron stared at each other and shrugged after a moment.

"We forgive you," Harry said kindly as he helped lift his tired friend out of the chair. Hermione sighed contentedly, _'Thank you Cedric'_ she thought happily.

_'You're welcome,'_ replied a faint voice.

* * *

**A/N: So I do like this one, I know there is no real romance or humor in it but it is still effective don't you think? Or should I have put a kiss in it? REVIEW and tell me everything ;D xxxxx**


	9. Breathe Again

**Good afternoon everyone! It is 12:10pm here in a rather sunny Northern Ireland and I have just finished another story! This one is not my favourite as I don't think it is my best writing. I think I may be loosing it a bit (AHHH!) I struggled with the ending. It's another shortish one...sorry! But anyway, read it and maybe you never know you might ENJOY!!!**

_Disclaimer: I own the flimsy plot line, but JKR owns everything else!_

**Breathe Again**

It was one of her most favourite things to do. When she wanted to relax and let her mind wander free this was the first thing she thought of. She looked up into the cloudy sky and smiled, it wouldn't be Great Britain without a few clouds.

'Looks like it's going to rain,' Hermione thought as she walked around the edge of the Black Lake. She looked out over the water and sighed contentedly. What was it about this walk that made her so calm and collected? Harry and Ron were currently in Quidditch practice, they had a big game with Slytherin coming up. Hermione could have stayed and watched them practice however that was of no interest to her, she much preferred her walk instead. There were other students outside today but they were nowhere near Hermione, which she had to admit she also preferred. When she walked the edge of the lake she liked to do it alone, with no noise or people to distract her.

"Hey Granger!" she'd spoke too soon. Looking to her left she spotted a group of girls making their way towards her.

"Pansy," she said disdainfully as the group of Slytherin girls finally reached her.

"We were just going up to the Quidditch pitch to watch Scarhead and Weasel when we spotted their number one fan down here all by herself. What's the matter? Fall out with your boyfriends?" Pansy sneered as she flicked her hair out of her face and acted like she was the Queen Bee of her group.

"Not that it's any of your business Pansy but I don't really like Quidditch so instead of boring myself to tears and having to put up with you it would have seemed, I chose to do something that I rather enjoy and now as luck would have it I have to put up with you also." Hermione was in no mood for Pansy and her hoard of followers today. Why couldn't she just be left alone?

"Oh don't you like us Granger?" said Pansy with mock sadness. The girls surrounding her tittered along with her as Hermione rolled her eyes impatiently.

"How should I say this without causing you to go crying to your ferret lover boy? No Pansy I'm afraid I'm not your biggest fan," Hermione replied to the jeering girl with sarcasm oozing out of every word she said. Pansy's face fell and a dark looked crossed her distorted expression. Hermione could have laughed however she was starting to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"How dare you call Draco a ferret!" the Slytherin spat as she advanced on the single Gryffindor. Hermione stepped back several paces until she was on the edge of the banking. What lay below her now was simply dark, freezing cold water. Just as she contemplated bringing out her wand she was shoved backwards and before she knew it she was in the lake.

"Enjoy your swim!" cackled Pansy and her harem as they walked away and left Hermione treading water. The Gryffindor grumbled and made to get out of the chilling water.

'Pathetic idiot,' she thought bitterly as she grabbed the bank. As she started to pull herself out of the water she felt something pulling on her leg. With a pang of fear she kicked out and felt her foot hit something rather bulky. Suddenly she screamed as she felt many long, spindly fingers wrap around her legs. She clutched onto the edge of the lake in vain and as she was pulled under she screamed again and brought with her two handfuls of grass.

'Oh my god!' she thought desperately as she searched for her wand. As she pulled it out of her pocket a distorted creature flew in front of her, knocking her only weapon of defence out of her hand. Panic riddled her body as she watched her wand float to the surface like a piece of wood broken off a tree. Further down she was dragged and the little oxygen she had managed to reserve began to run out. Her peripheral vision started to darken and soon all she could see were two single tunnels of light. She'd only been dragged under about a minute and a half before and from somewhere up above her she heard a faint splash.

'This is it...I'm going to die,' she thought as her oxygen starved brain began to relax. Involuntarily her eyes began to drift to a close and her muscles began to loosen. The horrid beasts had her legs and her left arm and so her free right arm began to float in front of her. As the seconds passed she knew she had to breathe in sooner or later. The beasts kept dragging her down and the pressure was starting to build, her head started to hurt and her lungs burned for oxygen. Just as she was about to give up her last remaining hope she felt something clasp around her free hand. She couldn't see what it was but a nagging feeling told her it was another Grindylow. To her great surprise however she felt this thing pull her upwards and heard muffled words. Something whizzed past her in the water and she felt a couple of the fingers let go of her legs. Another muffled word and more fingers released her. In a matter of seconds she was completely free and this new thing was pulling her back to the surface. As her head broke the surface she felt the biting air surround her. The coughing was painful but her sharp gasps for air felt amazing.

'I can breathe again! How?' she thought as she was pulled towards the bank of the lake. The feeling of hard ground beneath her was indescribable. Once there was enough oxygen back into her system she slowly opened her eyes. It was very bright even if it was overcast. A solid body was holding her close and was shouting for help. Looking up she saw yellow and a mass of brown, her vision was still too blurry to make out a face. Who was this person? She needed to thank whoever it was.

"Thank...you," she managed to choke out, it was hard to talk.

"It's alright Hermione; everything's going to be fine now. Madam Promfrey is on her way." She recognised the voice but before she could put a name to it she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Hermione's eyes flickered open. She was in the hospital wing, it was dark and all she could taste was bitter water. Her eyes focused and adjusted to the dark and as she looked about the room she spotted a figure sitting in the chair beside her bed. His head was bent towards her and his arms were folded tightly. His toffee coloured hair was messy, as if it had dried naturally and his clothes were slightly dirty.

"Cedric?" she whispered aloud, highly confused. His eyes opened slowly and he looked at her warily. When he spotted that she was awake he jumped and sat up straight in his chair.

"Hermione you're awake! How do you feel?" he asked her hurriedly. Hermione stared at him for a moment and then looked about the room again. They were alone in the complete darkness; Madam Promfrey must be in her room. Rain pelted the windows at the far end of the wing and a slight chill hung in the air.

"I'm...alright," she muttered, turning her head back to look at Cedric again, "What happened?"

"You were pushed into the lake by that horrible Slytherin girl. When you fell into the water the splash must have stirred the Grindylows and they grabbed you and pulled you under," Cedric told her softly, trying not to startle her too much. Hermione thought for a moment, trying to remember. When she did the memories flooded her mind and the fear she'd felt scared her.

"You saved me," she murmured not looking at the Hufflepuff now. "I did," he murmured back, "No one else was even close to you. I had been lying on the grass with my friends near the forbidden forest when I heard a splash. I stood up and seen that evil girl and her group walking away from the lake. Then I spotted you trying to get back out of the water but then you screamed and disappeared. I ran as fast as I could. I performed the bubble-head charm and dove into the water. It felt like the second task of the Triwizard Tournament again, only this time you weren't in a magical coma. Your air bubbles were flying past me, I knew you didn't have much time and I knew you were defenceless. I spotted your wand on the surface of the water before I jumped in. For a couple of moments I thought I wasn't going to be able to reach you in time, so I swam faster and faster until I reached your outstretched, free hand. After that I managed to fight off the beasts and pull you back up."

Hermione remained silent after Cedric told her how he'd managed to save her life. The memories were too painful and she didn't really want to think about it anymore.

"What about Harry and Ron?" she whispered after a minute. Cedric leaned forward in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. "They were here all day but Madam Promfrey wouldn't let them stay with me. They went back to Gryffindor tower about 3 hours ago."

"Why did she not tell you to go back?" Hermione asked perplexedly. Cedric chuckled, "Well being Head Boy does have its perks and I also saved your life so I think I deserve to stay don't you?"

"Thanks Cedric."

"For what?"

"Saving my life," Hermione mumbled, she was starting to feel drowsy. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat," he whispered softly. Hermione smiled at him, closed her eyes and a couple of minutes later she was fast asleep. Cedric gazed at her while she slept, she looked so peaceful. A strand of hair fell onto her face and he leaned forward and gently moved it back.

"You scared me half to death," he whispered to the sleeping witch. "I thought you were going to die. If you'd have died I don't know what I would have done. Not being able to see you every day would have destroyed me completely. I'll never let anything bad happen to you ever again. You may never know it but I'll always be there for you." Hermione breathed in deeply and turned in her sleep so that her back was facing Cedric. The boy smiled and sat back in his chair.

"Sleep well my angel," Cedric whispered. He then closed his eyes and he too fell fast asleep.

* * *

**A/N: Not my best right? Bah the next one willbe better I promise!!! REVIEW xxxxx**


	10. Smile

**Smile**

The taunting of those horrid Slytherin girls rang in my ears causing more of the hot, painful tears to spill from my eyes. Why was I always the one they picked on? No one should be bullied just because of their intelligence.

'Stupid, ignorant cows,' I thought harshly as I forced my way through the crowded stone corridors. The last class of the day had just finished and I'd just left Ancient Runes when I accidently bumped into Pansy Parkinson and her band of Slytherin cronies on their way to the Great Hall for dinner.

'Bloody inbred whores,' I mentally shouted as I remembered how they had pushed and shoved me, calling me nasty names, made fun of my hair and jeered about my muggle family. More tears fell as I pushed a second year Ravenclaw into a wall and shoved a bunch of fifth year Hufflepuff girls into each other. Soon I found myself in a relatively empty corridor and just as soon as I had leaned against a wall to try and sober myself I heard a voice which made my blood run cold.

"Granger. Crying again? Guess you met Pansy after class," sneered Draco Malfoy as he sauntered towards me with his bodyguard friends trailing after him.

"Leave me alone Malfoy," I snarled as he stood in front of me, a hate inducing smirk on his ghostly pale face.

"I can leave you well alone as I see Pansy has already accomplished what I wanted today." His bodyguards guffawed as I clutched the books I'd taken from the Ancient Runes classroom tightly to my chest.

"You're completely heartless," I growled as I tried to give him my best evil-glare. Clearly I failed as he laughed in my face causing my cheeks to burn in frustration and embarrassment.

"Tough words coming from a pathetic little Mudblood." My ears burned and I swallowed the bile that had risen in the back of my throat. Malfoy said something to his goons that I didn't quite catch and as he made to leave he hit the top of the books that I held to my chest so hard that it caused them to fall all around me.

"See you at dinner," Malfoy shouted as he strode down the corridor and just before he went completely out of sight he took his wand out of his pocket and cast a spell in my direction. It felt like my heart stopped as I heard my book bag rip open and its contents spill to the floor. I stood rooted to the spot for a moment or two trying to regain some composure but I failed miserably. As I sank to the floor a sob escaped my lips. Holding my hand up to my mouth to quiet myself I shook as sobs started to vibrate through my body.

"Are you alright?" a voice asked from somewhere above me. My bloodshot eyes blinked away tears and landed on the person who had stopped in front of me and the mess.

"Need a hand?" Cedric Diggory asked me tenderly. I couldn't answer him properly as I sniffed and hiccupped violently so instead I nodded my head. The sixth year Triwizard Champion got to his knees and started clearing up the broken bottles of ink.

"I saw what he did to you," he muttered softly as I wiped my eyes and nose with a pure white handkerchief. Again I couldn't answer so I merely looked at him as he cleaned the stained Ancient Runes books. He looked up at me, his mercury coloured eyes burning with hatred for the people who turned me into my current state.

"Does this happen a lot?" he asked, concern evident in his calming tenor.

"Yes," I whispered my voice breaking slightly as I continued to dab at my eyes. His brow furrowed as he continued to help me clean up the terrible mess.

"Why?" The question was simple and it had a simple answer but I couldn't bring myself to answer him so I remained silent, hoping he would get the picture and stop asking. Oh if I should be so lucky.

"Is it because of your heritage?" the kindly Hufflepuff asked in a deathly silent whisper. I paused for so long that I really didn't need to nod my head. I heard him sigh heavily and then curse under his breath.

"Somebody should teach that brat a lesson," he muttered finally getting my books cleared of all ink stains. As I stacked the books and prepared myself to pick them up I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Would you like me to kill him for you?" My head snapped up. Cedric looked completely serious as my eyes bulged out of my head in shock. Was he serious? He couldn't actually be serious? I stared at him for a couple of seconds more before his serious face dissolved into a smile.

"Geez Hermione I wasn't serious," he said as he started to laugh. My face fell and my cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. As the Hufflepuff champion continued to laugh by my side he put a finger under my chin and forced my head up from my knees.

"I was only trying to get you to smile. You look so much better that way." My heart skipped a beat; he was still smiling at me, his pearly white teeth almost glinting in the light. For some reason I suddenly realised the funny side to his statement. Although not being a laugh out loud joke the prospect of the Golden Boy of Hufflepuff, Mr. Nice himself actually killing someone was so ludicrous that you just had to smile at the sheer stupidity of it. I felt my mouth turn up at the corners and before I knew it a smile had spread across my face.

"There we are, much better! Girls like you should never be sad."

"Ever the charmer Mr. Diggory," I said with a chuckle as he got up and helped me to my feet. After he handed me my books he smiled his brilliant smile at me again and the sun decided to shine in through the windows illuminating him so that he looked like some sort of angel. For some reason my heart decided to flutter.

"That I am Miss. Granger."

"Thanks for helping me," I mumbled as the sun continued to shine. Cedric waved his hand in the air in a gesture which implied that it hadn't bothered him at all to help me out. Could this guy get any nicer?

"Anything for you Hermione, listen I have to run back to my dormitory so I'll see you at dinner alright?" As he ran off down the corridor I couldn't help but let another smile grace my lips. Whoever said that Hogwarts didn't have any nice guys had clearly never met Cedric Diggory.

* * *

Later on at dinner I found myself sitting in between Harry and Ron eating a comforting bowl of stew. As I ate another warming forkful and piece of parchment folded up into the shape of a bird landed beside my glass of pumpkin juice.

"What the?" Ron asked as he went to grab the parchment. I slapped his hand away and indicated to him that it was addressed to me. He rolled his eyes and went back to his steak dinner, chewing grumpily.

"Who's it from?" asked Harry who'd barely touched his food at all.

"I don't know. I'll tell you now in a minute." I opened the letter and didn't recognise the small, neat writing. Usually when I received notes it was either from Harry, Ron or Ginny and neither one of them had particularly good handwriting.

**Hermione,**

**I think you deserve another smile. Watch Malfoy for the next couple of minutes. I guarantee that you will be smiling for the rest of the night.**

**Cedric x**

"Well?" asked Harry impatiently. I glanced at him and then turned my eyes toward Malfoy. He was chatting enthusiastically to the person opposite him and had finished eating.

"It's from Cedric," I informed the eagerly waiting Gryffindor champion. I then went on to explain what had occurred after I'd left Ancient Runes and how Cedric had helped me when no one else was around. Harry seemed impressed however Ron snorted and made a sly comment about Cedric. I slapped him on the arm as Harry and I kept our eyes on Malfoy. The minutes ticked by and soon dessert was on the table. Harry and I blindly reached for whatever was in front of us and waited. Before we knew it it had happened.

"ARGH!" yelled Malfoy as the cream from his dessert flew up into his face. As it continued to propel into his pale face I turned in my seat and scanned the Hufflepuff table. Soon enough I found Cedric looking right back at me and a broad smile spread across my face.

'Brilliant!' I mouthed to him. He winked at me and pointed towards the Great Hall doors. I turned round just in time to witness Malfoy darting out of the hall yelling profanities at the top of his lungs. Just as Cedric had guaranteed I had a smile on my lips for the rest of the night. Justice had been served, quite literally.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed! I know it's been a while since I've updated so all I can say is sorry for that :(. I know it doesn't live up to some of the previous chapters but I still think it's cute, I hope you do too. Please REVIEW with all of your thoughts.**


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